Various types of equipment have been devised for transporting large trees. One common technique utilizes ground piercing blades which, when fully positioned, effectively capture the root ball of the tree, then lift the root ball and tree out of the ground. Depending on the distance between the initial tree position and the desired tree position, a tractor with such a blade mechanism may transport the tree with the same equipment. Blade-type tree moving devices are disclosed, for example, in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,417,416, 4,658,518, and 6,561,008. More recent tree planting equipment with ground engaging blades is disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,253,690 and 6,530,333.
A substantially dissimilar technique for moving large trees involves forming a box around and under the root ball of the tree. There are several advantages to a boxed tree for shipment, since numerous trees can be shipped on a highway by a flat bed trailer without transporting the ground engaging blades. Also, the boxed tree may be treated for a substantial period of time, e.g., six to 12 months, subsequent to being removed from the ground and prior to transplanting, with these treatments substantially contributing to the health and vitality of the tree, and increasing the likelihood that the transplanted tree will be successful. Various techniques for forming a box around a tree root ball are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,756,259, 5,265,375, and 5,311,700. A transport intended to lift a root ball from the ground and position the tree on a trailer is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,158,418. The complexity of various equipment used to lift the root ball from the ground and then position the root ball at a desired inclination on the bed of the trailer practicality limit systems of the type disclosed in the '418 Patent.
Boxed trees may include wooden sides to hold the root ball together, and a bottom may be formed by planks, sheets, or pipe. In other embodiments, a boxed tree is “boxed” or contained by other types of containers, such as slats, wire mesh, wire sheets, burlap, or boards, as disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,134,196, 3,979,856, 4,062,148, 4,250,664, 4,403,447, 4,478,260, 4,604,825, and 5,090,157. Contained root balls wherein the container is not part of the ground piercing blades are considered boxed trees, regardless of the material used to contain the root ball.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,478,260 discloses one technique for lifting a root ball from the ground. Another technique presumably designed for transporting larger trees is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,918,556, wherein a lifting mechanism raises the root ball, then a flat bed trailer is positioned under the raised root ball and transported to the desired site. The lifting mechanism obviously has to be present at the initial or former site and at the new transplanted site for the tree, and represents a substantial cost for the technique disclosed in the '556 Patent. Moreover, the '556 Patent does not disclose a mechanism for tilting the root ball so that the trunk of the tree is inclined rather than vertical. Most large trees cannot be moved along the highway system if the trees were vertical, and even if such movement is possible, a raised tree could be easily damaged during transport by the wind and by branch interfering objects.
The disadvantages of the prior art are overcome by the present invention and an improved boxed tree transporter and method are hereinafter disclosed.